ElevenLabs Sound Effects
What is ElevenLabs Sound Effects?
ElevenLabs Sound Effects is a text-to-effect endpoint that turns a short description into audio. Send text describing the sound, optionally set prompt_influence (0 to 1, default 0.5), duration (auto or any value between 0.5 and 30 seconds), and loop (default false), and the job returns a finished audio URL after the task completes. The 30-second cap and looping flag are tuned for utility sounds rather than full musical pieces: footsteps, doors, UI cues, transitional whooshes, impacts, and short ambiences. Lower prompt_influence lets the model take more freedom with the brief, which is what you want for atmospheric variation; higher values keep the result close to the prompt for literal cues.
Key features of ElevenLabs Sound Effects
Four features cover the controls you'll touch in a real production session.
Auto or fixed duration up to 30 seconds
`duration` accepts `auto` (the model picks a length that fits the sound) or any value between 0.5 and 30 seconds. UI cues sit at 0.5 to 2 seconds, ambiences at 10 to 30.
Click-free looping for beds and pads
Set `loop` to `true` and the result repeats without an audible click. Useful for ambiences, drones, room tone, and stinger beds that need to sit under a longer scene or voiceover.
Prompt influence as a single dial
`prompt_influence` (0 to 1, default 0.5) weights how literally the model follows your text. High for explicit briefs, low for atmospheric variation. The same text at 0.3 and 0.7 returns usefully different takes.
Single-call output for utility sounds
Footsteps, doors, UI chimes, transitional whooshes, impacts, and short ambiences land in one call. The 30-second cap keeps the endpoint scoped to SFX rather than music.
Best for
Game audio layers
Footsteps, door slams, UI feedback, and ambient layers under voice work. Loop the ambiences and trigger the one-shots from the engine.
Film and motion temp foley
Quick temp foley before a library search or a foley session. Useful for pitch reels and rough cuts that need to feel alive.
App UI cues
Notification chimes, success tones, error buzzes with tuned duration. 0.5 to 2 seconds fits a typical product cue.
Music production transitions
Whooshes, risers, and impacts for arrangement work. Pair with `prompt_influence` low to get a useful set of variants from the same brief.
Podcast imaging
Short stingers and looped beds for show transitions and segment open/closes.
Prototyping before licensing
Generate timed cues for a prototype before committing to library subscriptions or custom sound design.
Use cases
Lay an ambient bed under a podcast cold open by sending a 15-second loop: true call with a low prompt_influence value, then dropping the resulting URL straight into the timeline. Add UI cues to a product prototype by batching a dozen short briefs ("soft notification chime", "error buzz", "success tone") at 1.5 seconds each. Generate temp foley for a rough cut by writing one prompt per missing sound and re-rolling on different prompt_influence values until the edit feels right. Produce a set of riser and impact variants for a music arrangement by sending the same prompt at 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 influence and picking a winner.
API examples
Call ElevenLabs Sound Effects from any language by POSTing to /v1/tasks. Full parameter docs live at docs.unifically.com/models/audio/elevenlabs/sound-effect.
curl -X POST https://api.unifically.com/v1/tasks \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"model": "elevenlabs/sound-effect",
"input": {
"text": "wolf howling at the moon"
}
}'
Successful submission returns a task_id. Poll GET /v1/tasks/<task_id> or set a callback_url on the request to receive the finished audio URL.
FAQs
People also ask
ElevenLabs Sound Effects is a text-to-effect endpoint. Send a short text description, optionally set prompt_influence, duration, and loop, and the job returns audio through the standard task lifecycle. Useful for footsteps, door slams, UI cues, ambiences, and short stingers.
auto, or any specific duration between 0.5 and 30 seconds. The playground exposes 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 second presets; the API accepts any number in that range.
Enable loop when you need a bed or atmosphere that repeats without a hard click between repeats. Useful for ambiences, drones, room tone, and stinger beds you want to lay under longer voiceover.
prompt_influence (0 to 1, default 0.5) weights how literally the model follows your description. Higher values stay closer to the prompt; lower values give the model more freedom for variation. Try 0.7 for explicit briefs and 0.3 for atmospheric ones.
Short utility sounds: footsteps, doors, UI cues, transitional whooshes, impacts, and short ambiences. The 30-second cap means full musical pieces and long ambient beds belong on a music or longer-form audio model.
Yes. Set loop to true and pick a duration (10 or 15 seconds is a good balance). The result loops without an audible click so the bed can sit under a longer voiceover or scene.
Lower prompt_influence (try 0.3) and re-run the call. The model takes more freedom with the brief, so two consecutive calls with the same text return useful variants instead of near-identical outputs.